Frankie Lymon

Franklin Joseph "Frankie" Lymon (September 30, 1942 – February 27, 1968) was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll group The Teenagers.

The group was composed of five boys, all in their early to mid-teens. The original lineup of the Teenagers, an integrated group, included three African-American members, Frankie Lymon, Jimmy Merchant, and Sherman Garnes; and two Puerto Rican members, Joe Negroni and Herman Santiago.

The Teenagers' first single, 1956's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love," was also its biggest hit. After Lymon went solo in mid-1957, both his career and that of the Teenagers fell into decline. He was found dead at the age of 25 on the floor of his grandmother's bathroom from a heroin overdose. His life was dramatized in the 1998 film Why Do Fools Fall In Love.

"Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is a song that was originally a hit for early New York City-based rock and roll group Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers in January 1956. It reached No. 1 on the R&B chart, No. 6 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart, and number 1 on the UK Singles Chart in July.

The song helped to make Frankie Lymon a household name and would make him a rock and roll pioneer.

The song is referenced several times in the 1936 Kaufman and Hart play "You Can't Take It With You." and Benny Goodman and his Orchestra (with vocalist Helen Ward) recorded the song during the same year.

Frankie Lymon performed it live on television on several occasions, including twice in 1957 on The Ed Sullivan Show. He also had a hit with his recording of the song in the United States, reaching #20 that year, as well as #24 in the UK. It was released as a recording with his group the Teenagers, but was, in fact, a solo recording.

Shelley Winters's character in Curtis Harrington's 1971 thriller What's the Matter with Helen? plays the song at the end of the movie.

The song was performed by 'Wayne & Wanda' in an episode of The Muppet Show.

Chicago recorded the song on its 1995 big band album Night and Day. Their version was arranged and featured lead vocals by Bill Champlin.

A recording by the BBC Dance Orchestra was featured in the film The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007).